House Majority Leader Tim Greimel said Thursday that former Pontiac Emergency Manager Lou Schimmel took a step too far on his last day — by appointing his own replacement.In appointing Joseph M. Sobota as city administrator, Schimmel “essentially appointed a new emergency manager, called a ‘city administrator,’ to take over in his stead,” Greimel said in a letter sent to Gov. Rick Snyder. Greimel is a Democrat from Auburn Hills whose district includes Pontiac.Greimel asked Snyder and the Michigan Department of Treasury to unravel any parts of Schimmel’s orders that give Sobota power and authority over the city’s elected officials.The state lawmaker called Schimmel’s actions “egregious” and said that neither Michigan’s emergency manager law or the city’s budget reference city administrators.The city administrator position is “the illegitimate construct of an emergency manager acting outside the bounds of the law,” Greimel said.Sara Wurfel, spokeswoman for Snyder, said that language in the emergency manager law does allow for the appointment, with Public Act 436 providing for “the creation of any new position.”“We share Rep. Greimel’s interest in a locally-run Pontiac,” Wurfel said.
“The governor’s goal and intent is absolutely to return full control to elected officials as quickly and efficiently as possible, but also while ensuring the long-term financial success of the City of Pontiac.”Schimmel, the city’s third state-appointed manager, resigned Aug. 19, leaving the city with a two-year balanced budget. One of Schimmel’s final orders appointed Sobota, previously the city’s director of community development, as city administrator.Snyder has appointed a Receivership Transition Advisory Board to the city on which Schimmel and three others serve.Schimmel’s final order gives Sobota significant day-to-day responsibility and financial authority. The order also locks in city employees and contractors and gives the mayor and council narrower authority than they had before the state took over Pontiac’s finances in 2009, using “shall” and “shall not” provisos to lay out the scope of city officials’ power.The city administrator position has virtually all of an emergency manager’s powers, but no legal authority for the position exists, Greimel said in his letter to the governor.“The City of Pontiac has not returned to anything resembling local control,” he said.Snyder’s spokeswoman said the appointment of Sobota and the transition board “are key to working collaboratively and ensuring strong financial management and best practices remain in place moving forward and avoid getting right back to where we started.”Wurfel said the bottom line “is financial stability to ensure the best quality of life and services for residents, as well as (an) economic climate for growth.”
Sobota responded to Greimel’s letter on Thursday.“I am continuing to exercise my duties and responsibilities under the law to work with the City Council, the mayor and other city or state officials and the Transition Advisory Board to successfully transition to the termination of receivership for the city,” the city administrator said.Sobota said he’s “supporting, implementing and maintaining the financial and operating plans and reforms instituted by the city’s emergency financial managers and emergency managers by providing appropriate training to local officials and explanation of city operations.”The Pontiac City Council passed an emergency resolution on Aug. 26 asking for clarification ofSchimmel’s final order, S-334, and an orderly return to local control. The resolution said that the final order potentially violates the City Charter, the Open Meetings Act and the state’s emergency manager law, Public Act 436.Greimel attended the meeting where the resolution was passed, and told the council that Sobota is “a new emergency manager.”Mayor Leon Jukowski vetoed the resolution the next day, calling it “unintelligible” and “unenforceable.”
The council then overrode the mayor’s veto at its next meeting.Contact staff writer Dustin Blitchok at 248-745-4685 or dustin.blitchok@oakpress.com.
Follow him on Twitter @SincerelyDustin.